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The Freedoms That We Celebrate

John 8:36
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

We gather on Independence Day to celebrate with fervor and joy our freedom from Great Britain and our establishment as a sovereign nation.  We celebrate to recognize Our Creator who endowed us with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We celebrate with gratitude what America has become – a shining light on the hill – the most creative, productive and richest nation in the history of mankind.  And finally, we celebrate to let every other nation in the world (and every internal ideological group) know that we are not interested in and will not tolerate any other system of belief that they might wish to impose upon us.  
We can draw parallels in our own personal freedom in Christ.  When we accepted Jesus as Our Savior, we were overcome by joy as we declared our separation from a sin nature that condemned us.  With great fervor, we celebrated our rights as heirs to the kingdom of heaven.  We took our places as lamp stands on the hill, providing light to the world around us.  And finally, we proclaimed victory over Satan and every evil that he tries to impose upon us.

Even though the United States of America has been the standard for freedom around the world for over 200 years, as citizens of the United States, we are only partially free.  We only have the freedom extended to us in the land in which we live today.   But as those who are made free by Christ the Son of God, we are not free in part only, but are wholly free and have a right to all the privileges of the kingdom of God here on earth and in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for endowing us with the unalienable freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, so that we may be endowed with eternal rights to the fullness of life in Your kingdom.  On this Independence Day, Father, we pray for our nation.  We ask, Father, for You to bring us leaders who will stand for our beliefs.  We pray that You bring us leaders who will uphold Our Constitution – the ingenious plan that was designed to make it impossible for any person or group to establish a despotic rule over our people or our nation.  Lord, we pray that the United States of America will remain for all future generations a beacon of liberty, an upholder of our God-given unalienable rights and a guardian of our independence.  May we personally proclaim freedom from life in the flesh as we live in the fullness of our lives in Christ.  We ask all these things in the name of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, in whose kingdom we reside.

A Vague Sense of Our Sin is not Enough

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
When we go into the presence of God, anything that is not pleasing to Him will come to mind.  We cannot get by with a general sense of sinfulness.  The Holy Spirit will not rest until we have been convicted of our particular sin.
When Isaiah came upon the vision of the Lord and saw His holiness, Isaiah immediately proclaimed that he was a man of unclean lips.  Isaiah knew that he would not be able to serve the Lord without cleansing himself from the sin that he had been shown.
God will work the same way with each of us.  Through His Holy Spirit, He will convict us of a single point of iniquity.  Then He will lead us to deeper revelation of the things in our lives that are displeasing to Him until we are properly prepared to serve Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the restlessness that the Holy Spirit brings upon us when we are walking in darkness.  We thank You for the absolute focus that You put on our sins, making it impossible for us to take on a vague sense of the sinfulness in our lives.  We pray the Holy Spirit will bring our every iniquity into the light so that we may repent and move forward in obedience to Your calling on our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Perfecter of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Imitating Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, he exhorted them to pattern their lives after Jesus Christ.  Paul understood that obedience to a creed simply takes us to a proper and higher level of lifestyle.  Accepting Jesus Christ as Our Savior and patterning our lives after Him will move us toward a level of perfection, holiness and purity that only He could attain and we can begin to approach through Him.
In truth, it is not good enough to be good.  It is not good enough to do great works.  The only thing that we can do that is of any eternal value is to submit our lives to Jesus Christ as Our Savior, to die of self and to take on the spirit of the One who dwells within us.  Anything less than full submission to Our Lord and Master and anything less than becoming imitators of Jesus Christ as His disciples leaves us short of being true Christians.

What is the goal then?  The goal is to imitate Jesus Christ in our daily lives.  What is the challenge?  The challenge is that we are incapable of achieving our goal without the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  What is the answer then?  The answer is to surrender all that we are and all that we have and all that we will ever be and all that we will ever have to Our Lord and Savior.  Then we must turn to the Holy Spirit daily to guide us and strengthen us as the natural man within us refuses to surrender.  Finally, we should rejoice and praise God for He has provided the unchanging, unfailing way, the truth and the life that will allow us to fulfill our stated goal.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing the Word to become flesh so that we could see the standard to which we are all called.  May we stand before You one day in the image of Your Son, washed clean by His blood and perfected by His presence within us.  Father God, we pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to become true disciples of Jesus as we spend our time on earth preparing for the glorious day of coming into Your presence.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God.  

Until You Have Paid the Last Penny

Matthew 5:25-26
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.  Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
In Matthew, we are taught that when we have a debt that needs to be paid that we should try to reconcile with the one to whom we owe the debt.  We will always end up suffering the consequences of the unresolved debt if we do not try to come to terms with our accuser.  We should try to come to terms with the accuser prior to going before the judge.  This passage is generally regarded as a teaching about how to handle conflict concerning civil matters. 
The same perspective can very easily be applied to sin in our lives.  It was necessary for Jesus to redeem us from our sin debt for there is not a space in heaven where the slightest sin is allowed.  It is our responsibility to come to terms quickly with the sin in our lives.  We must confess and ask forgiveness for every act for which we deserve to be accused and judged before the Throne of God.
Once we received Jesus as Our Savior, we found it generally easy to turn away from obvious and grievous sin.  It is probable, however, that as we matured in Christ that we found out that there were areas of sin in our lives that had been hardened prior to our renewal in Christ.  It is even more likely that we found and continue to find areas in our lives that are not necessarily sinful, but are separating us from the perfection that we will reach in heaven.   Be certain that this revealing process will continue with us until we breath our last breath.  Thank God that He is so merciful for it is through these struggles the He reinforces our dependence on Our Savior and He draws us closer to Himself and to the time that we will spend eternity with Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to spare us from our sin debt.  We thank You for Your mercy as You see us struggle against sin in our lives.  We thank You for Your grace as You provide Your Holy Spirit to aid us in departing from our errant ways.  May Your countenance shine upon as we turn away from our old lives and learn to live according to Your kingdom principles here on earth.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The Second Coming Of Jesus

Luke 21: 25-28
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Jesus told His disciples what to look for when the He was ready to return to set up His kingdom on earth.  One of the things that He spoke of was the signs in the moons and stars.  The following news release caught my attention.

There is a rare and special celestial occurrence that will be happening just after sunset on June 30, 2015.  On June 30th, 2015, the same conjunction that happened when Jesus was born, known as the “star of Bethlehem” will happen AGAIN in the night sky. The two planets, Venus and Jupiter will spend eight evenings within 2° of each other from June 27th through July 4th.  Astronomers refer to a close celestial pair-up like this as a conjunction.  This rare conjunction/pairing of Jupiter and Venus coming this close to each other so that they appear to be on top of one another has not happened like this since the birth of Jesus.

This is an extremely rare occurrence that should not be overlooked.  This event alone surely does not mean that the return of Jesus is imminent, but it certainly does come in line with the many other prophetic signs that are falling into place.

Here are six areas of activity that are considered to be signs of the coming of the end of the age of the church and the beginning of the reign of Jesus Christ on earth.

The Signs of Nature
Jesus spoke of the birth pangs in the earth that will increase in frequency and intensity as His return approaches.  A quick study of the historic records and a little attention to the evening news will reveal the increase in frequency and intensity of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions across the globe.  In fact, there has been an increasing intensity in all of our natural calamities.  Not to be overlooked is the return of diseases thought to be eradicated and the widespread evidence of growing famine across the globe.  Its as if God is shaking the earth to alert us to the coming of His Son.

The Signs of Society
Jesus said that when He returned the nature of society would be like the times of Noah.  We do not know a great deal about the times of Noah, but what we do know is that it was a time of such great immorality and violence that God sent a flood to cover the earth.  All it takes to confirm how far our society has fallen is to watch some of the old TV shows and then compare them to the immorality and violence passed off in every episode of today’s television programming.

The Spiritual Signs
Jesus taught of the falling away of the church and rise of false teachers in the end times.  It is sad to watch mainstream religious denominations abandon biblical principles and the salvation message in order to proclaim what tickles the ears of their audience.  All kinds of myths, heresies and gross apostasy are running rampant.  On top of this, we see the dramatic rise in Satanism and a fascination with the occult. 

On the other hand, there are positive spiritual signs.  The Gospel is being brought to all corners of the world in thousands of languages.  The number of new Christians in the Middle East, India and China is staggering.  Evidence of a global outpouring of the Spirit that Jesus foretold about the end of the church age is reaching across the world.

The Signs of Technology
In Daniel chapter 12, we are taught that the end times will be marked by an explosion in knowledge and transportation.  Both have increased exponentially this century.  According to several sources, human knowledge is currently doubling every 12 months, but that will accelerate to every 12 hours once the full potential of the internet is built out.  We entered this century on horse back.  Today you can buy yourself a ride on a spaceship. 

The Signs of World Politics
End time prophecy foretells the coming of a one world government and a one world currency.  It is easy to see that we are only a couple of world-wide calamities from that scenario unfolding.

The Signs of Israel
The final category for signs of the return of Jesus concerns Israel.  The signs concerning Israel are more important than all the rest.  While the other categories provide strong indications of the second coming of Jesus Christ, there is ample room for speculation.  When it comes to Israel there is no room for speculation.  What is prophesied has come to fruition in our lifetime.  Here are seven key fulfillments of prophesy:
  1. The regathering of the Jews in their land – began in the early 1900’s.
  2. The re-establishment of the state of Israel – May 14, 1948.
  3. The reclamation of the land – a wasteland has become land of milk and honey once again.
  4. The revival of the Hebrew language – abandoned through ages, Hebrew is now the official language of Israel.
  5. The resurgence of the military – Israel’s military force dominates the Middle East.  Israel is one of the top military forces in the world.
  6. The world comes together against Israel – with the U.S. moving away from Israel, Israel stands alone.
  7. The re-occupation of Jerusalem – June 7, 1967

The signs of nature, the signs of society, the spiritual signs, the signs of technology, the signs of world politics and the signs of Israel all point to the soon return of Jesus Christ.   God is shouting, “My Son is coming soon.”  Are you ready?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy.  We thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You for preparing our hearts to receive the Blessed Hope that is Your Son.  We thank You for providing the signs of the return of Your Son to rule and reign on this earth.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit leads us into surrender to our coming King.  We ask all these things in the name of the Great King Over All the Earth, Jesus Christ.

The Inerrant Word of God

Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.
Throughout the ages, God’s Word has always been challenged to some degree.  But in today’s world, God’s Word is being challenged in totality.  It was gradual at first, but now God’s detractors are bold and aggressive.  Their messages are widespread and unforgiving.  If you do not fall in line with the untruths that they sell, you are a bigot and a danger to society.

We are being told over and over again that the world’s values are changing and that we all need to change with it.  In other words, God’s Word is not meant to be everlasting.  It was only good for a different time and place.  

When given the opportunity to share the Good News, we may find ourselves trying to massage the message so that it is more palatable to the listener.  How dare we presume that our words are more pleasing to the lost than the Word of God?  When we are sharing God’s Word with the others, we should speak the truth as it is written.  We are doing the lost a great disservice if we give them anything other than the full truth.  Our words are powerless when they are not grounded in the Word of God.  Yet when we speak under the authority of the Word of God, our words  hold the same truths and promises as the Word of God.  Our words offer hope and assurance for those who are in need.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your inerrant Word so that we may have knowledge of who You are, so that we may know how much You love us, so that we may know that You have created us in Your image and that we may know that You have a perfect plan for our lives here on earth and in Your eternal kingdom.  We exalt You for all the promises that You extend to us in Your Holy Word.  Lord, we pray that You open our minds to receive the truths in Your Word.  We pray that You equip us to share the perfect truth in Your Word with those that You have placed in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ.  

Going Beyond the Law

Philemon 1:21
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his slave, Onesimus, who had run away.  Paul also asked Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ.  The law gave Philemon the right to deal with his runaway slave harshly.  Paul was asking Philemon to go beyond the law and respond with an act of brotherly love.
God’s call on each of our lives is unique.  While He gives all of us the Ten Commandments to follow, He sets aside specific directives for each of us to follow.  He places these callings on our heart.  He wants to see our obedience to Him.  It is for His glory.  It is for the gain of His kingdom here on earth and in heaven.  When we follow God’s calling, it is certain that our obedience will provide favor in our lives beyond anything that we see or imagine.

But we should strive to go beyond the things that we are called to.  We should open our hearts and our minds to find ways to give joy to one another.  Many around us are looking over their shoulders expecting trouble from the world that surrounds them.  Let us find ways to comfort one another and bring joy to one another.  We should exhaust every measure to bring hope to others.  But if in no other way, we should abound in prayer for everyone.  If obedience to the law brings us unimagined favor, what will we receive for going beyond the law?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to serve You.  We know that You will provide Your favor and protection when we follow your Commandments and the callings that You place on our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity.  Gracious Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit reveal to us the areas where You are calling us in obedience to serve you.  We ask for an overflowing of the love of Our Savior in our lives so that we will be founts of comfort, joy and hope to those that are in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

With the Boldness and Confidence of the Prophets

Jeremiah 1:8
“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you”, declares the LORD.
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah to give him confidence.  He assured Jeremiah that he would not be asked to do anything for which the Lord had not equipped him.  The Lord also confirmed with Jeremiah that He would be protected from anything or anyone that tried to come against him.  This was all necessary to boost up Jeremiah.  Jeremiah was being asked to deliver messages that were not pleasant to the ears of his audience.  Jeremiah, one of God’s greatest prophets, needed the divine inspiration of God to be able to carry out His assignment.
Our heavenly Father knows that often we fear what others will think about us.  God knows that we are weak and have a sense of inadequacy about carrying out the work that He calls us to do.  In His Word, He gives us the story of Jeremiah to strengthen and encourage us.  He wants us in a place where we fear no man.    

Surely, getting to this place where we fear no man is one of the most difficult lessons that we as believers ever learn.  It requires that we learn to trust completely in the Lord in all matters concerning our lives.  Even though the Lord has promised His perfect provision and protection in our lives, we still struggle to live in the fullness of what He has declared.  Sadly, it is a lesson that is probably not fully internalized even up to our death beds.  How much more joy would we have in life if we just simply put our complete trust in Him?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the protection and provision that You promise us.  We rejoice in Your unbreakable commitment to Your Word.  We praise You for allowing us to live in Your grace.  We pray, Lord, that You give us the courage to see past our circumstances and the wisdom to know that Your hand will be sufficient for all that we need.  We ask, Father, that Your Holy Spirit build us up and strengthen us so that we fear no man.  May we carry out the work that You give to us with the boldness and confidence of Your prophets.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Strength of Our Lives.

Commanded to Be of Good Cheer

Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Rejoice.  Endure.  Pray.  Now that is a winning combination.  Each of these disciplines undergirds the other.  The cumulative power gained by exercising these disciplines is even more valuable to followers of Jesus Christ when considering when they will be applied – during the times of trial and tribulation.

So how do these things work together.  First of all, Jesus taught that in the world we will have tribulation.  This is a given.  There is no getting around it and it is becoming obvious in these days that tribulation for Christians is being ramped up in the form of persecution unlike anything that we have ever seen in our lifetime.  But knowing this, we can rejoice as we have the hope given to us by the Son of God who has overcome the world.  This is so certain that Jesus commands us to be of good cheer.  And finally, because of the weakness of our flesh, the Lord God Almighty has provided access to His throne.  When we are in the middle of the battle, losing strength and clearly not of good cheer, Our Heavenly Father invites us into His presence to receive an overflowing of His grace which will strengthen us, encourage us and lift us up into the joyful expectancy that belongs to us as children of the living God. 

May we rejoice in our hope.  May we persevere in our trials.  May we receive the fresh supplies of grace that we need to indeed be of good cheer at all times and under all circumstances.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the constant flow of Your grace into our lives.  Teach us, Father, to come to You throughout the day, not just at certain assigned times.  Show us how to come into Your presence without ceasing.  May we learn to humble ourselves before You endlessly as we come to You in prayer, bringing You the love, the honor and the praise that You alone deserve.  We pray that we will endure all things as we rely on the Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.  We rest on His promises.  We ask all these things in His precious, holy and mighty name.

The Blood of the Lamb Conquers All

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
There is nothing on this earth that can conquer us.  What are these things that we struggle with?  Shall our troubles overcome us?  Shall our worries distress us?  Shall our hunger stop us?  Shall our worn clothing deter us?  Shall our enemies harm us?  Shall evil make us fear?  Shall those who persecute us take away our faith?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us.  For He that prepared a crown and a kingdom for us will provide all that we need to overcome.
Although we may see some measure of defeat from an earthly perspective, no one can separate us from the love of Christ.  His love is so powerful that all the things of the earth become insignificant to us as our faith and our joy increase through our new lives in Christ.  There are no reproaches, afflictions or persecutions that we cannot bear.  Through Jesus we are enabled to go forward cheerfully and with great courage. 

His victory over all evil is so complete that we share in His conquest.  Satan and his emissaries are doomed to weariness and defeat for the Blood of the Lamb conquers all.  The victory is ours.  His grace is always sufficient and no one can take His treasures from us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to dwell in Your shadow where we are protected from all that might come against us.  We thank You for providing Your angels to guard us.  We praise the name of Jesus for securing complete victory over all evil when He died on the Cross and was resurrected.  We pray that the Holy Spirit comfort us in our trials and teach us how to claim victory over our flesh and the attacks of the evil one.  We pray for the wisdom to trust in the promises of Our Risen Savior.  We rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Overcoming Lamb.